Life Under the Big Top

The Northerns like to camp. By camping, NorthernDaddy means "car camping". You know, where you find a nice state park campsite with a great view located close to the restrooms and pay showers, and all of your gear is hauled in the car. NorthernMommy has more experience with (and thus less problems with) backpacking. You know, the type of deal where every last item you need is strapped to your back and weight is at a premium. People that backpack do things like carry freeze-dried food, cut the handle off their toothbrush, carry titanium cookware, and wear the same clothes over and over (keeping clean by washing the same pair of socks and underwear each night - in their featherweight cookpot). They do this to prevent their backpack from feeling heavy, like an angry midget that just over-ate at the Chinese buffet.

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The NorthernFamily is firmly in the car-camping category at this time. LittleNortherner could do without carrying his stuffed animals...and he'd be fine with the same set of dirty clothes for a month or two, but there's no way that he could carry enough food to feed himself - even if it was dehydrated and vacuum-packed. NorthernDaddy likes his cooler (that's where the drinks are) and being within a day's walk of a shower. Long live car camping!

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After NorthernMommy and LittleNortherner spent some time camping in a typhoon (or a hurricane, or possibly just a heavy mist), they were unhappy about getting soaked in the tent. They were very vocal about it, too. NorthernDaddy was forced to upgrade the shelter. His first pick was a Kelty Mach 6. After realizing that the Mach 6 costs a few pennies less than five hundred dollars, the search was on for a more budget-friendly tent.

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The old tent was sized for four people. Tent manufacturers like to over-emphasize the capacity of their shelters, so that tent would fit four people - if they were really, really friendly. And not in sleeping bags. Heaven forbid they attempt an air mattress.... So the challenge for NorthernDaddy was to find an "affordable, big-ass tent that is easy to set up and keeps the freakin rain out" (that's what he told the salesman at the outdoor shop).

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Eureka makes a sensibly-priced eight person tent called the Tetragon 8.

It looks like this:

Y'all are getting the stock photo from the Eureka website because, in all the excitement of setting up the new tent and, um, camping, the Northerns forgot to take a picture of the tent. (Morons.)

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This thing is huge! Twelve feet by ten feet - enough to lay out a 5/0 air mattress with a separate sleeping pad (for NorthernDaddy, who hates being pushed off the air matt by Little), still leaving huge spaces all around at the walls for packs and gear. An adult can stand up straight in the middle, it's got a full rain fly, and is just generally awesome as a family tent.

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NorthernMommy and Little are quite happy with their new tent!

 

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NorthernFamilyAdventureMobile loaded up to camp at the lake!

LittleNortherner desperately wants his own boat. After hosting his over-grown five-year-old carcass in their own boats, NorthernMommy and Daddy each agree that he should get his own boat. It's hard to paddle a kayak with him and not whack hime in the head. He also hogs the seat....